Some of the most popular CSR trends in the area of corporate social responsibility include increased transparency, investment in green technologies, local community and employee engagement, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

In our ever-changing environment, business owners (and their consumers who expect nothing less) are searching for new ways to impact their communities. As our society continues to pivot from the full lockdown effects from COVID-19, more corporate social responsibility trends are emerging and some are here to stay.

3 CSR Trends To Stay

1. The Continuation of Virtual Community Engagement

COVID-19 has forever changed the way companies communicate with their employees, stakeholders, and communities. Over the last two years, we have seen firsthand how impactful these methods of communication, in the form of webinars, virtual team meetings, and more, have proven to be, and will continue to be, for the future of corporate social responsibility.

There are numerous benefits of virtual community engagement, such as accommodating workers who live in different areas of the world and ensuring the safety of employees following the pandemic. According to the World Bank Blog, these virtual meetings “also include lowered operating costs and a reduced carbon footprint of companies.”

Furthermore, in a recent article by Sterling Volunteers that discussed nonprofit and volunteer perspectives and individuals’ access to volunteer opportunities (both virtual and in-person), it was stated that “90% of volunteers gave positive responses” to such initiatives.

The article also stated that last year, 65% of volunteers voted in favor of “supporting particular causes,” a rise from the 48% of volunteers in 2020.

Some trends that have emerged from virtual volunteerism since the 2020 pandemic include:

• An increase in volunteerism due to technology (Social media and online searches have significantly helped grow this trend)
• A focus on hybrid volunteer engagement, which will give communities more options of volunteering virtually or in-person
• A shift in generational volunteerism, with Millennials and Gen Zs leading the pack on volunteer involvement

Organizations who strive to make a difference in their communities through volunteerism have a huge advantage over businesses who put their focus elsewhere. Although we are in better circumstances following the global pandemic of 2020, we foresee virtual community engagement remaining at the forefront of CSR trends for years to come.

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2. Measuring CSR Impact

An important trend that companies will continue to see rise over the upcoming years will be an emphasis on measuring the impact relating to CSR initiatives. There are numerous metrics that go into measuring a company’s impact, such as employee engagement, social return on investment, and customer growth and retention, and consistent monitoring of these metrics will help ensure CSR success.

With there being many metrics that can affect the impact of a business, it can sometimes be unclear as to which ones have the most direct influence. In a 2021 report by the Chicago Booth’s RustandyCenter for Social Sector Innovation, PhD graduate, Shirley Lu, has been tirelessly working to determine how companies measure the impact of CSR efforts.

She said, “What firms do in terms of corporate social responsibility can have incredible impacts on the world. But if we really want to know that impact, we have to be able to measure it.”

In 2022, it’s imperative that corporations take an active role in tracking key metrics to measure how their products and services are impacting the communities they serve. The more comprehensive CSR measurements are, the more companies will be able to make lasting contributions and see exponential growth within their businesses.

3. Corporations’ Involvement on Current Events

Another trend that is here to stay is companies taking part in initiatives that positively impact their communities. More and more consumers are opting to purchase from brands who take an active part in pertinent world issues.

In a 2021 Deloitte Global survey(opens in new tab) about Millennials and Gen Z’s stance on companies’ approach to social change, responsibility, and impact, it was found that these generations “believe businesses are focused solely on their own agendas or that they have no motivations beyond profitability.”

Furthermore, the survey stated only 47% of Millennials felt companies were positively impacting society. This low percentage, which dipped from 50% in the previous year, amplifies the notion that businesses need to be doing more for the community in order to gain consumer support.

Cisco, for instance, is making a huge wave in the corporate social responsibility space with their response to racism and discrimination. Their campaign helps fund 16 nonprofit organizations who are working to create better environments for marginalized groups. With over 3100 supporters for their fund, this company is not only talking the talk, but walking the walk regarding the betterment of their community.

As companies become more vocal about ongoing paramount topics, such as COVID-19, racism and discrimination, and environmental matters, society as a whole will be better equipped for making these necessary, lasting changes.

New CSR Trends for 2022

The Necessity of Equity and Diversity

Fair opportunities, differentiated support, and an inclusion of people from all backgrounds are extremely important CSR trends that we will see in 2022. Equity and diversity in the workplace is taking the lead as more corporations are conducting trainings that focus on these issues and providing solutions to build and maintain trust, commitment, and a safe work environment for their employees.

In the upcoming years, you can expect to see more companies making diversity, equity, and inclusion a priority within the communities they serve. In 2021, DMCG Global conducted a survey that gave insight on how diversity, equity, and inclusion affected career decisions of marketing industry professionals. The survey concluded that 55% of respondents would find new places of employment if there were no DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) incentives in effect, and 77% agreed that these much needed incentives have a “positive impact on workplace belonging and job satisfaction.”

DMCG’s survey depicts what business owners, employees, and consumers have been witnessing firsthand for the last few years — people want to be acknowledged, included, and given fair opportunity in their place of employment and these rights are non-negotiable.

Equity and diversity efforts are rapidly growing and will remain at the forefront as generations like Millennials and Gen Zs continue to push for workplace change.

Employee Volunteer Programs

An excellent way for companies to simultaneously build team morale, increase job satisfaction, and play an active role in the community is through implementing employee volunteer programs. This is a trend that is continuously growing, and we will surely see its impact in 2022.

Virtual volunteering has increased tenfold since COVID-19, with many corporations and its employees offering services to their community, like online tutoring and mentoring, live training classes, or administrative services to nonprofit organizations.

This recent article dives into the future of corporate volunteerism, and it states that employees “want to work for a company that they believe is morally responsible and aligns with their values as individuals.”

Volunteer programs can have a lasting, positive effect on our society, and now is a great time for corporations to look at these programs from a wider perspective to ensure they are the best fit for all involved parties.

 

CSR Projections for 2022 and Beyond

The 2020 global pandemic was an eye-opener for many people. As consumers look to their favorite brands to help lead the way with effective CSR initiatives, these companies now have a social responsibility that they must uphold.

It’s important that companies take note of what is working and what can be improved upon to not only create success within their internal communities but also within the external communities they serve.

 

 

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly becoming an issue of great concern and, as a result, more and more CSR-related guidelines have been rolled out internationally even as legislation and regulations are being effectively improved in China. Meanwhile, different coalitions, codes of conduct, assessment methods and investment standards have been provided for companies. But even though the concept of CSR is widely recognised across the globe, there is still no consensus on what CSR is, what it covers, and how it is to be applied. This despite the fact that research has been carried out, in different countries, on CSR and related fields.

According to the school of classical economics, a company’s sole task is to seek maximum profit through legal means. Within that framework, a company – by nature – pursues economic gains, by which it is judged successful or not, and doesn’t seem to care about its social responsibility. However, with the development of social production and the rapid increase in the number and size of companies, the “stakeholder theory” has received much attention and has been a focus of research. In fact some researchers have put forward innovative views about CSR.

CSR-related research has had a significant influence on CSR practices. In an attempt to summarise international trends in CSR research, we have selected representative content from the voluminous research literature produced over the past few years.

Trend 1: Companies made less vulnerable thanks to CSR

During the unprecedented worldwide economic downturn that resulted from the financial crisis ten years ago, companies that had put more effort into performing social responsibility were less vulnerable to the setback.

According to a survey by three researchers from the United States and Britain (Lins, Servaes& Tamayo, 2017), during the financial crisis of 2008 – 2009, stock returns of companies with higher social capital (or more commitment to social responsibility) were generally 4 to 7% higher than those of companies with lower social capital. They made the discovery by selecting and comparing the August 2008 – March 2009 CSR data of 1,673 non-financial companies, based on social capital theory and relevant research. In the recovery period after the financial crisis, however, the perceived CSR performance didn’t seem to be related to stock returns. Overall, companies that enjoy more social capital due to more CSR commitment have a clear advantage when general corporate trustworthiness tends to be challenged. Under the normal scenario, on the other hand, the value of a company’s social capital is already embodied in its stock price. This discovery also shows that a company with a higher CSR rating usually has better profitability in a financial crisis, which means that a company must be mindful of building up its social capital in order to defend itself against possible turbulence from the outside.

Trend 2: Consumers more picky about CSR

More and more companies worldwide are incorporating CSR into their daily operations. Their commitment to CSR has brought them high prestige and helped them strengthen ties with different stakeholders. Different companies have different approaches in meeting their CSR commitment.

It has been found that, compared with monetary means, non-monetary CSR events fare better in engaging consumers at an emotional level, which means consumers possibly prefer CSR events in non-monetary forms. Research on consumer feedback on CSR events (Hildebrand, Demotta, Sen& Valenzuela, 2017), showed that when the outcome is predicted as relatively uncontrollable, consumers react favourably to non-monetary CSR events; when the outcome is predicted as relatively controllable, consumers react favourably to monetary CSR events. In fact, the significance of the research is that CSR events can be appropriately selected and managed on the basis of whether consumer feedback on a certain event is controllable or uncontrollable.

Unfortunately, as CSR events multiply in number and form and receive extensive media coverage, consumers grow sceptical about “professed CSR commitment”. Some even believe that certain companies use CSR as a vanity project or simply as a façade to divert public attention and cover their real problems. Nevertheless, research also shows that such negative perceptions can be mitigated through the honest and concrete presentation of CSR information. All in all, it is because of the scepticism on the part of consumers that companies must convey CSR information in an economical and efficient way.

Trend 3: CSR has an increasing influence on employers & employees

Employees are the most important part of a company’s internal stakeholder groups. How an employee is treated in a company may deeply impact his psychological experience and directly determine his attitude and commitment to the company. In a survey about how companies may use CSR to improve employees’ participation and reduce workplace misbehaviour such as slacking off and absenteeism (Flammer&Luo, 2017), it was found that employee-related CSR improvement mainly happens in labour-intensive, highly competitive businesses that tend to depend on stakeholders. This is because CSR improvement helps increase employees’ creativity, distinguishes the company from its competitors, and reduces employee dissatisfaction with the negative aspects of the company’s image.

Based on research, in 2017, by Haski-Leventhal, Roza&Meijs, the Social Responsibility Matrix was created through a combination of identity and behaviour – the two dimensions of social responsibility. The quadrants into which the social responsibilities of employees and employers can be categorised are: low social responsibility, identity-based social responsibility, behaviour-based social responsibility and mixed social responsibility. The research points out that putting employees and employers in the same matrix is an important step in measuring CSR consistency and the possible effects on both parties. For example, an inconsistency between CSR identity and CSR behaviour may result in a loss of trust between employers and employees and even lead to misbehaviour.

The role of CSR manager is a relatively new career. A qualitative analysis of CSR managers in multinational corporations (Risi&Wickert, 2017) tried to determine if there is “symmetry” between systemisation and professionalisation. A rather interesting discovery is that CSR managers tend to be marginalised when the CSR system is being improved and consolidated; that is to say, the CSR manager is less important when the company has a better developed CSR system.

Trend 4: Skilful announcement of CSR information

In the past two decades, there has been significant improvement in the quantity and quality of CSR reports presented by large corporations around the world. However, these reports lack consistency in format, writing style and key elements, also the quality and accuracy of their content have yet to be systematically assessed. Therefore, research (Sethi, Martell &Demir, 2017) has been done in an attempt to analyse and assess CSR reports within the CSR-Sustainability Monitor framework.

This research covers the data in CSR reports of 614 large corporations in 43 countries, doing business in 20 different industries. The analysis shows that higher quality CSR reports usually have higher approval rates, while the size of a company is not conspicuously related to the approval rates of its CSR reports. Meanwhile, if a company does business in an industry that is highly sensitive to the environment and society, its CSR reports usually have higher approval ratings. In a regional comparison, companies in Western Europe have higher approval rates in their CSR reports than those in East Asia and North America, probably a result of different legal systems at the local level. The research presents three challenging tasks for CSR researchers and practitioners in terms of CSR reports: accurate disclosure, full disclosure, and diversity in approval provider. Only by announcing all the relevant facts in CSR reports and providing necessary explanations can a company truly win public trust.

Some researchers have carried out in-depth discussions about the content and form of CSR reports. They have found that, in their CSR reports, many companies explain their CSR strategies as a “focus on the community” or “global vision”, and often use a “texts & pictures” presentation style. Are these CSR reports “friendly” and effective enough for investors who deal with numbers all the time? According to existing research (Elliott, Grant &Rennekamp, 2017), the above method helps to increase investors’ willingness to invest in the company (especially investors who are less sensitive to numbers). In the meantime, research confirms that the style of disclosing information in a CSR report has an impact on people’s perception about the company’s values. In other words, when composing and designing its CSR report, a company must take the target audience into consideration and think about the best ways for the CSR information to be received.

 

Companies take their resources from society to run their business successfully and thus, these companies morally have a duty to give back something to the society beyond their commitments to investors or stockholders. This is the basic idea behind ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR). It can also be termed as ‘enlightened self-interest’. CSR includes corporations being economically responsible, embracing fair trade, improving labor practices, giving back to the community, mitigating environmental damage, and increasing employee satisfaction.

If we look and analyze the geographical evolution of this concept, we would find that there is no consensus on what actually constitutes CSR among businesses in different parts of the world, nor is there is a uniformity in the timeline.This is due to the fact that different countries have target different sectors such as healthcare, poverty, environment etc. In fact, while many countries show a reflection of this concept, some countries do not even support the idea of CSR.

CSR regulations in India

Traditionally, CSR in India has been seen as a philanthropic activity but after the introduction of Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, India became the first country to have statutorily mandated CSR for specified companies. Section 135 has nine subsections that regulate the CSR regime in India.

The subsections are explained as follows:

Eligibility for undertaking CSR

According to subsection 1, if a company fulfills any of the below-mentioned conditions in its last preceding ‘financial year’, it shall constitute a CSR Committee:

• The net worth of a company being five hundred crore rupees or more.
• Turnover of a company being one thousand crore rupees or more.
• The net profit of the company being five crore rupees or more.

The Committee that would be formed must have three or more directors including one independent director. There is a provision attached to this subsection according to which if under sub-section (4) of Section 149, it is not required by a company to appoint an independent director, then the company must have two or more directors in the CSR Committee.

Any financial year referred to under this Section has to be read with Rule 3(2) of the CST Rules which implies ‘any of the three preceding financial years’.

• The company, for spending the amount earmarked for CSR activities has to compulsorily give preference to the local area and the areas around where the company operates.
• If the company fails to spend the amount specified for CSR, then the board has to compulsorily specify reasons for not doing that in the report (made under clause (o) of Section 134(3)) and the unspent amount needs to be transferred to a fund specified in Schedule VII. This is to be done within six months of the expiry of the financial year. The reasons along with transfer of amount to fund have to be done unless the unspent amount is related to an ongoing project which is referred to under subsection 6.
• If an amount is spent more than the requirements which are provided under this subsection by the company, then such a company may set off the excess amount against the requirement to spend under this subsection for such a number of succeeding financial years and in a manner that may be prescribed.
• Activities that can be undertaken as a part of CSR are mentioned under Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013. These activities (as before amendment) were related to the health sector, sanitation and drinking sector, promoting education, gender equality, environment, eradication of poverty, hunger and malnutrition, national heritage, art and culture, sports, contribution to any fund set up by the central government, the welfare of minority communities, technology, rural development, etc.
• The notification issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 23 March 2020 seeks to include funds spent on various activities related to COVID-19 covered under the existing items under Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013. This has been done because the World Health Organization declaredCoronavirus as a pandemic and subsequently the Government of India decided to treat it as a notified disaster.

In India, some successful companies undertake CSR projects on a large scale. For example, The Tata Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate manufacturer of airplanes, automobiles, and other products works for bringing a significant improvement in the community, alleviating poverty, helping people through various self-help groups, and carrying out many projects in the field of education. Another example can be Ultratech Cement, the biggest cement company in India which is involved in a lot of social work with a focus on healthcare and family welfare programs, infrastructure, environment, education, sustainable livelihood, and social welfare across 407 villages.

 

Countries that have made CSR a legal mandate

‘Mandatory CSR’ can be defined as a general legal duty of acting in a responsible social manner. That legal duty can be created under either corporate law or as a part of the fiduciary duty of directors.

Even though CSR is voluntary and beyond compliance with the law. Yet, a few countries such as China, UK, South Africa, and Indonesia have taken a progressive step and made CSR a legal mandate. Their corporate statutes expressly state that companies shall engage in CSR activities.

China

China was among the first countries in the world to mention the phrase ‘CSR’ in its corporate statute. Company Law of the People’s Republic of China 2006 states that a company shall undertake “social responsibility” in doing the business.

According to the experience of China regarding CSR, it is less a corporate behavior standard and more of a judicial review standard. It is also evidenced that interpretation of CSR places high demands on the judiciary.

Indonesia

Limited Liability Company Act 2007 of Indonesia requires explicitly that the companies in the sector of natural resources or any connection with such resources are under an obligation of implementing environmental and social responsibility.

This law of August 2007 made Indonesia the first nation in the world to mandate companies in the extractive and energy industries to disclose their CSR activities. Ten years have passed since the CSR mandate and Indonesia has yet to issue a related implementing regulation, hence making it unenforceable.

United Kingdom

The UK Companies Act, 2006 takes the approach of making CSR a legal duty as a part of the fiduciary duty of directors. The law requires directors to have regard to two things, one is to long-term programs and another is to various factors of CSR including the interests of suppliers, environment, consumers, and employees. It broadly replaced the old duty to act in the company’s best interests.

South Africa

Mandatory CSR can be implemented by a company’s board of directors where the interests of the shareholders can be served easily. Corporate Law 2008 of South Africa requires the creation of a CSR board committee that is responsible for supervising and enacting the company’s CSR policies. In addition to this, a new report was issued in 2010 which focuses on the issues of risk and sustainability.

Comparison of CSR regulations in India with that of other countries

CSR is not just a legal duty, it can also be defined as a procedure for assessing the impact of an organization on society and thus, evaluating its responsibilities. The procedure begins with an assessment of the following aspects of each business:

• Customers
• Environment
• Suppliers
• Employees
• Communities

Companies (CSR Policy) Amendment Rules 2021 bring a critical change in connection with the scope of expenditure of CSR funds on employees. The 2014 Rules prohibited a company from investing the amount of CSR in activities that are beneficial only to the employees of the company and their families. The Amendment Rules appear to prohibit any benefit being received by the employees of the company from the CSR expenditure.

After analyzing CSR laws in India, it is clear that the country mixes two factors under this regime: traditional philanthropy and strategic projects. CSR in India operates at places where there is a lack of resources such as toilets and schools. A community’s need is a major factor under the CSR regime on which India broadly places a top priority. In contrast to this, CSR in wealthier or major countries like Canada and Australia utilizes CSR funding mostly to cultural institutions and such countries prefer implementing green business practices. CSR is approached with the intrinsic skills of the business in such countries.

In conclusion, two of the biggest differences between India’s approach and other countries’ approach towards CSR is as follows:

• The government of India mandates CSR spending while the government of most of the other countries do not mandate it.
• CSR in India is understood in a way that allows businesses to mitigate the negative impact its activities have caused on the local communities which means that social wellbeing and business success are framed and perceived as antithetical in India. While in other countries like Brazil, U.S. or the European Union, the two are seen as mutually beneficial.

Implementation and success of CSR globally

For the universal acceptance of undertaking CSR, the United Nations (UN) has played a major and significant role. It promoted the “Global Compact” under which many countries are signatories. This global compact is the world’s largest initiative concerning corporate sustainability which binds the signatories to universally accepted principles of social responsibility which the businesses in those countries ought to follow and which are tracked for implementation.

Mandating certain activities as a part of CSR programme : need of the hour

Ghana is a country where there is no comprehensive CSR policy or law. It is an emerging economy where the financial backdrop was faced recently. Research suggests that Ghana should focus mostly on the assessment of aspects of stakeholders in rolling out the CSR program. It is further researched that business organizations are pressured to report on sustainability activities due to the stakeholder and institutional influence.

In advanced countries, ethical issues are highly rated as a part of CSR. An MNC may desire to score high and be more ethical when it comes to CSR international ratings but that may not be the need and priority of countries within which those MNCs operate. Thus, these multinationals need to adapt their CSR programs to suit the needs and settings of their host countries.

Multinationals have their interests like giving priority to global consistency through managing international standards, upkeeping the interests and values of headquarters and home country while local representatives have interests like having local responsiveness by managing host country interests, laws, and values. This conflict can only be managed by an organized development of a framework. Thus, the mandate of undertaking certain activities as a part of CSR is an urgent necessity for addressing issues like poverty and underdevelopment in the least developed and emerging economies.

Conclusion

The concept of CSR is nothing but looking beyond profits. Though India is the first country in the world to have a mandatory statutory compliance requirement on CSR spending, there are still many challenges ahead that would be addressed by the working together of government, corporations, and civil society. The same is the condition with the other countries where a proper framework of CSR is needed and implementation needs to be done in a proper manner.

Undoubtedly, consumers would be more willing to purchase the product or service of a company if that company shows a commitment to address economic, environmental, and social issues. Thus, apart from creating appealing and conscious advertisements, corporations must enlist cooperation and support of the media in spreading awareness about CSR and its impact on the society to the people at large.

 

 

 

American corporations give over 3 billion dollars to charity. These contributions finance a broad range of activities including health welfare education research culture and arts

 

Philanthropy may seem a relatively new concept in the world of business, but corporate charitable giving has actually been around for some time. In Ancient Rome, businesses were expected to pay taxes to fund military campaigns (that were believed to be for the good of the Roman populace). And by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, philanthropy was common amongst the growing number of wealthy middle-class, particularly the new industry owners as a result of industrialisation. A prime example is Thomas John Barnardo, who established hundreds of homes for children to alleviate them from poverty (and who is still a household name thanks to his charitable organisation Barnardos).

However, it wasn’t until the 20th century when community development and social responsibility was recognised as going hand in hand with business growth and success. George Cadbury, the founder of Cadbury, was one of those thought leaders, founding the Bournville Village Trust in 1900 to provide safe, comfortable living conditions for his workers. He certainly wasn’t alone in this thinking. Today, many companies give generously to charities on a regular basis. Aside from the sense of reward and satisfaction that comes from giving back to the community, there are actually multiple benefits to corporate charitable donations. In this article, we’ll be outlining a number of reasons why businesses should regularly give to charity.

Why do companies give to charity?

Team morale

It’s a simple fact – when you do good at work, you feel good. And when you feel good at work, you are more likely to have a positive mindset towards your role and company. It’s no secret that being in a good mood increases your productivity and the quality of your work – one study showed that happiness can make you 12% more productive.

This is the essence of why the philanthropic business model works. It causes companies to look beyond meeting their KPIs and generating profit to build a more generous, positive workplace environment. Your employees will feel proud to be part of a team that is making a real difference to the lives of those in need and are more likely to view the company in a good light as a result. Workplace volunteering makes millennial employees twice as likely to rate their corporate culture as very positive according to one study. Fostering a productive and happy office culture also improves your chances of retaining your current workforce and attracting new employees. All this good stuff contributes to a successful business – a happy, enthusiastic and productive team who believe in you as a company.

Shines a positive light on your brand

Corporate giving also makes your business look good to the public. Think of it as another marketing channel – being a philanthropic business is a great way to raise the profile of your organisation and improve your reputation amongst your audience. According to one study, millennials spend 70% more on brands that support causes they care about. The Charities Aid Foundation also found that 51% of British adults are more likely to buy a product or use a service if a company donated to charitable causes.

Corporate philanthropy is also a rich source of audience engagement, particularly with younger generations who are more likely to engage with brands on social media to discuss social responsibility issues. By being a vocal ally to disadvantaged groups or causes you are passionate about on social media, you will be clearly communicating your company’s values for all to see. It also shows that your support is genuine by backing a cause even when it’s not trendy to do so.

What you don’t want to happen is to rally behind a cause that doesn’t align with your company brand values simply because it is popular or current. This approach often attracts public scrutiny for piggybacking on a movement to raise your business profile. For example, during Pride 2019 various companies were accused of ‘pinkwashing’ their branding by using the international celebration of LGBT rights as a PR stunt. M&S once came under fire after releasing an LGBT sandwich for the event, which resulted in them being accused of tokenism. Corporate charitable giving will only improve your brand’s reputation and awareness if your engagement is authentic and you aim to make long-lasting change beneath the publicity.

Helping the community

Corporate charity giving does not necessarily have to be on a national scale. Giving back to your immediate community also has multiple benefits for businesses, particularly if you operate on a local level. For one, the locals will notice the effort you are putting into improving their community, consequently raising the reputation of your business. Two, by aligning your donation choices with local causes that your employees care about, you are more likely to get greater engagement from your workforce when it comes to raising funds and volunteering. Three, through your fundraising efforts you are likely to directly engage with your current or prospective customers, creating additional opportunities for your business to grow and strengthen your customer base.

Specialist training and support

By forming a partnership with a charity, companies can increase their awareness of a certain issue and use that as the basis of a training program or initiative that offers tangible benefits for their staff. For example, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) provides corporate partners with mental health training. This helps to reinforce the fact that corporate giving is often a mutually beneficial relationship.

All of the above points are worthy reasons to invest in corporate charity giving within your own business. To go one step further than supporting a cause as a one-off is to look into ways you can integrate corporate social responsibility into how you operate.

But hang on, what is corporate social responsibility?

What is corporate social responsibility?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the self-regulatory model businesses use to assess their impact on society and how they can develop ethical business processes and practices. The idea is to work out how you can improve the way you operate to benefit all your stakeholders (employees, customers, investors, local communities etc). When done correctly, corporate social responsibility should form an integral component of your company’s ethos and values.

What is the purpose of corporate social responsibility?

The purpose of corporate social responsibility is to have a positive, lasting impact on society which goes beyond throwing money at a good cause. Of course, there is still room for traditional corporate philanthropy as the aid sector still needs funding to continue its good work, particularly in our new age of contactless payments and the decline of cash donations. But companies should also recognise that they can have a much more powerful role in community development and alleviating social issues by going beyond financial support.

When utilised in the right way, CSR should help to drive long-lasting change. A good example of a brand doing exactly this is Ben & Jerry’s and their support of same-sex marriage. The ice cream giant renamed two of its ice creams (Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby, their apple-flavoured ice cream to Apple-y Ever After) in support of legalised same-sex marriage in the UK. But they didn’t stop there – when Australia didn’t legalise same-sex marriage, Ben & Jerry’s refused to sell same-flavour double scoops in their Australian stores in response. They also placed rainbow-decorated post boxes in each of their Australian stores, politely encouraging their customers to contact their local parliamentary representatives about the issue. They even promised to deliver all handwritten letters to the Australian Parliament themselves.

Inspiring examples of corporate charity partnerships

A successful corporate charity partnership should represent not only the charity’s long-term goals but also the company’s brand identity. The partnership should ‘make sense’ in the eyes of the general public. Take McCain Foods, for example. McCain is a ‘family-owned business’, and a lot of their advertising is centred around bringing families together at mealtimes. In 2021, McCain announced that they would be pledging £1m over three years to help Family Fund in their efforts to support families with disabled or children living with serious illnesses. Family Fund aims to offer 150,000 grants and services to help families in their day-to-day lives, which will include kitchen appliances to help bring people together during mealtimes.

While McCain and Family Fund are certainly well-matched, corporate giving can also reveal partnerships that are less ‘obvious’, which make for creative and innovative campaigns. For example, Stella Artois’ ‘Buy A Lady A Drink’ campaign. Back in 2017, the beer company partnered with Water.org and announced a 4-year pledge to help provide 3.5 million people in developing countries with long-term, sustainable access to clean water. When you think about it for a second, water is pretty integral to beer brewing, and it’s this kind of creative thinking that captures the public’s imagination and attention. To find out more about how to create long-standing, mutually beneficial relationships with charities, read our guide on forming charity partnerships.

How much do corporations give to charity?

As we mentioned in our Are You Giving Enough To Charity article there is no golden rule when it comes to how much you should give to good causes. If we could offer one piece of advice, it would be that the majority of corporations (approximately 70%) opt for strategic, regular giving rather than ad-hoc or one-off donations.

If you’re struggling to settle on a set figure to give, there are a few cases that can serve as examples of how much corporations give to charity. According to the CFA’s report, the FTSE 100 companies donate on average 2.4% of their pre-tax profit to charity. While international corporations such as Gilead Sciences, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase give millions to charity each year. In 2017 alone, Gilead Sciences donated $446.7 million (£333.2 million) to charity, funding numerous national and international public health campaigns. That’s certainly something to feel good about.

Are there tax incentives for corporate giving?

Yes there are! Since 2000, companies that donate to charities have been eligible for Corporate Gift Aid. This differs slightly from individual Gift Aid in that while charities can reclaim income tax from donations (which then increases their value), companies who give to charity have the value of the donation subtracted from its profits – which means that they pay less income tax. To find out more, take a look at our guide to Corporate Gift Aid.

Should my company set up a corporate foundation?

If you want to go the extra mile in your philanthropic efforts, why not build a corporate foundation? This means essentially forming your own charity so your company can support causes that it feels strongly about whilst having a hand in the overall strategy. It would also allow you to consolidate all of your giving into a single entity, so you can better measure and predict future outgoings.

Corporate foundations vary in both their purpose and structure. For instance, some companies decide to offer grants and scholarships, which usually involves setting up a charitable trust. Others, however, decide to go the extra mile and form a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) which usually involves setting up official premises and hiring employees.

Corporate foundations ensure that your CSR activities are focused and well-structured, whilst also having a large-scale impact on a range of truly worthy causes. To find out more, we suggest you take a look at this guide to corporate foundations taken from GOV.UK.

If you’re thinking about starting to fundraise within your own company; we can help. As a FinTech company dedicated to digitally transforming the aid sector, we are experts in helping charities, nonprofits and corporations make the most out of their fundraising, and have worked with many corporations to do so. From our contactless charity boxes to helping you form long-standing corporate charity partnerships, we can help you make corporate social responsibility an intrinsic part of your business.

Corporate foundations ensure that your CSR activities are focused and well-structured, whilst also having a large-scale impact on a range of truly worthy causes.

• Sustainable Development Goals.
• Supporting Small Businesses Becomes a New Philanthropic Property.
• Employee Volunteer Programs.
• Social Innovation for the Future.
• Increased Transparency.
• New Ways to Measure Efficiency of CSR Initiatives.
• Green Technology.

• Environmental Responsibility. …
• Ethical Responsibility. …
• Philanthropic Responsibility. …
• Economic Responsibility. …
• The Benefits of CSR.
• Reducing carbon footprints.
• Improving labor policies.
• Participating in fairtrade.
• Diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Charitable global giving.
• Community and virtual volunteering.
• Corporate policies that benefit the environment.
• Socially and environmentally conscious investments.

s businesses continue to expand around the world, they are becoming increasingly focused on building scalable, purpose-driven cultures that transcend geography and unify their people.

 

67 %of clients have a presence in countries outside their headquarter country.

64 %of companies allow their employees to give across borders.

32 %      YOY growth in adoption of cross-border giving capabilities in 2020.

Social Investment Going Up

As corporate culture becomes more transparent and accessible to buyers, who are driven by their beliefs and big-picture values, corporate giving and other social impacts are recognized and rewarded in the form of brand loyalty.

7 %increase in total corporate giving between 2017 and 2019.

27 %of companies reported an increase of more than 25% in corporate giving.

$ 23.5million in median total community investments in 2019.

Source: CECP Giving in Numbers Report, 2020

More Power
to the People

As more companies recognize the desire for a personal sense of impact, they’re empowering their people to lead grassroots movements and rewarding employees for supporting the issues and causes that matter to them.

$ 5000 /year

Average matching gifts cap
(range from $250 to unlimited).

62 %of companies allow employees to create their own content.

$ 10 /hourAverage volunteer reward amount (range from $5 to $50) with an average cap of $1,000/year

87 %of companies have a 1:1 match year-round and up to a 4:1 match during campaigns.

uthenticity
Is Key

Today’s most admired brands don’t rely on preaching to persuade; they live and breathe their values. When a brand is consistent and authentic in its actions—and invites its customers to be part of it—it’s more likely to be embraced by a loyal following of like-minded ambassadors.

 

 

 

Supporting Trends

85 %of people expect brands to solve issues that matter to them personally.*

80 %of people expect brands to solve society’s problems.*

88 %of people say they’d purchase products or services from a purpose-driven company, and 70% say they’d want to work for that company.**

Purpose is personal, so giving people choice in how they can do good—whether it’s giving, volunteering or small, positive actions—is key to driving more participation and impact.

69 %higher donor participation is achieved in programs that offer payroll giving.

70 %of companies have a blended match cap, giving their employees choice on whether to donate time or money.

Missions Drive Engagement

8 %

of participants in one company’s Missions campaign were new users.

71 %

higher overall program participation and 58% higher donor participation are achieved when Missions is offered.

32 %

of first-time Missions participants go on to give or volunteer.

60 %higher donation volume is seen when giving is paired with Missions.

As companies invest more in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, some corporations are recognizing that their CSR programs are a huge lever for creating a more inclusive culture. And when DE&I and CSR fall under the same umbrella, it leads to increased giving, likely due to higher resource allocation.

86 %of companies manage Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in a department separate from CSR.

The value of purpose cannot be understated or underestimated when it comes to how well a company performs. Employees, customers and investors all expect companies to take action on social issues, and the ones that survive and do well over the long term will be the ones that answer that call.

175 %increase in brand value over 12 years for brands perceived to have a high positive impact.*

86 %increase in growth for brands perceived to have a medium positive impact.*

70 %increase in growth for brands perceived to have a low positive impact.*

60 %of the book value of S&P 500 companies was represented by intangible assets, up from around 35% 20 years ago.**